


Real

by orphan_account



Series: Chasing Sunsets [2]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M, Mild Angst, Road Trips, road trip fic drive
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-14
Updated: 2015-05-14
Packaged: 2018-03-30 13:46:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3939049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Some days what they have seems too good to be true. Some nights the pain they've buried deep inside comes out. They just need to know that it's all real.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Real

For the first several weeks of their road trip, Oliver slept well. Well, when he actually did sleep. The two of them were often rather…occupied at night. His nightmares didn’t return until a few weeks in, once the buzz of finally being together died down, although Oliver was certain that he would never stop feeling overjoyed at the thought of living with Felicity forever.

But the nightmares came back. He managed to keep them from Felicity for about two days. He woke with a haunted expression, his heart pounding, fingers clenching the sheets.

In his dreams he was Al Sah-him. He killed and killed again. And then she was there.

“You’re a monster,” Dream Felicity spat. Her hair was messy, the love that was in her eyes during the day only replaced with pure hatred and resentment. 

“It’s who I am,” he replied, pulling back his bow.

This was the worst part of his nightmare. He put an arrow in her, killing her. The moment her body collapsed, he cried over her, crying over himself, mourning the loss of his own soul just as much as he mourned the loss of her. And he saw his own reflection. He looked more like a wolf than a human.

“You’re a monster.” 

The words rang in Oliver’s ears even when he woke. He turned over to see Felicity lying next to him, curled up and peaceful, a gentle smile on her face as she slept. 

Oliver pulled himself closer to her, needing to feel that she was real, that she was here. He released his breath when he felt her pushing back against him, nestling herself closer to him even as she slept. 

It was real. She was real. They were real.

And for about two days, Oliver lived with the haunting feeling that all of this could slip away at any moment. 

“Oliver?” she asked as they sat in their latest hotel room.

Oliver hummed a response as he set down his suitcase.

“You’ve been acting kind of weird lately. Is…is everything okay?”

Oliver looked down, then back up at her. “I’m having nightmares again. Bad ones. Ones where…ones where I lose you. Ones where I lose you and I lose my soul. And you’re gone and it’s all my fault.”

Felicity wrapped her arms around him and pressed her head against his chest. “I’m here, Oliver. We’re alive and we’re together. You have your soul and you have me.”

Oliver let himself fall into her embrace. They stood there for several minutes, taking comfort in the fact that they were indeed together. They were here. They were safe. 

Oliver thought that was the end of that for a while. His nightmares began to fade, or change at the very least. He could beat his nightmares now.

But one night he woke to a small cry from Felicity. He found her sitting up, hand clasped across her mouth, eyes squinted shut in a silent sob.

“Felicity?” he sat up, running his hand up and down across her back.

Felicity said nothing, but rather threw her arms around him and held onto him as tight as she could, her breathing shaky as she tried to calm down.

“What’s wrong, Felicity?” he asked after a few minutes.

Felicity let go long enough to look him in the eye. She had been crying, her face damp with tears. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you. I didn’t…”

Oliver took her hand in his. “Talk to me, Felicity.”

Felicity took a deep breath. “I…I had a nightmare. It started out fine. We were here, we were together, and we were happy. But then you turned into Al Sah-him again. You…you walked away from me and said you never loved me, that everything had been a ruse to get something else you wanted. Like Slade, but worse.”

Oliver pulled her close to him once again.

“I just need to know that you’re here and you’re real, Oliver. I’m sorry, it’s just…every man I’ve ever loved has left me, has decided that I’m not worth loving or worth fighting for. And now we’re here and we’re together and I love you and I’m…I’m terrified.”

Oliver brought her hand up to his face, letting her feel it. Her other hand ran across his scars. 

“I’m here, Felicity. I’m real. This is real. I love you and I won’t leave you.”

Felicity shook her head. “That’s what everyone says. And then they leave.”

Oliver kissed her forehead. “Then I will prove to you every day just how much I love you and that I never want to leave you. You are worth loving and you are worth fighting for. I’ll remind you of that as often as I need to. Okay?”

Felicity nodded before wiping her eyes. “I love you, Oliver.”

Oliver pulled her in close and held her tight. “I love you too, Felicity.”

They fell asleep again in each other’s arms. The nightmares weren’t as bad whenever they were together. And every tough between them wasn’t just filled with desperate desire and need. Every touch was a gentle reminder, an anchor for both of them.

_I’m here. I love you. I won’t leave you._

Because they did have something beautiful, something precious, something heavenly.

It was real.


End file.
